Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$41,449
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$10,171
19.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$41,141
Virginia costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Virginia — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$51,620
Kept after tax
$41,449
Worth in national money
$41,141
State rank
17
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Virginia is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $51,620, which ranks 17 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 1.87% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 298 among 489 occupations Virginia publishes pay for.
- No great distortion either way. Virginia costs about what the country costs, so from $51,620, take-home of $41,449 is worth roughly $41,141 in national money. The average comes to $53,740, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Virginia ranks 17 of 51 states publishing a median for bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks, at $51,620 — about 1.87% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Position 298 of 489 in Virginia places bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Price parity in Virginia is near the national base, so for bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks, whose median is $51,620, the adjusted figure of $41,141 differs little from $41,449 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $53,740 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,610 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $51,620 |
| Top tenth earn over | $72,860 |
| This salary | $51,620 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Virginia | $41,449 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $43,657 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,785 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $48,873 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,577 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $51,620 as a midpoint for Virginia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $36,610 and the ninetieth is $72,860 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Virginia the take-home figure of $41,449, from $51,620, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 298 of 489 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Virginia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $41,141, the adjusted value of that $51,620 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 298 of 489 in the state.
- The Virginia median of $51,620 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $36,610 to $72,860. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Virginia is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $41,449 from $51,620. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 298 of 489 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Virginia, so $41,141 — the adjusted value of that $51,620 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 298 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $53,740, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $36,610 and the top tenth $72,860, so most people doing this work in Virginia sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Virginia run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $41,141 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Virginia then takes its own share, leaving $41,449.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Virginia is $53,740. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($36,610 to $72,860) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Virginia rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Virginia's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $41,141 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $41,449 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Virginia income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.